An improvised explosive device (IED) blast during a sanitization operation in the Sher Bandi area of Kech district, Balochistan, has claimed the lives of five Pakistan Army personnel.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), those martyred include Captain Waqar Ahmed, Naik Ismatullah, and Lance Naik Junaid Ahmed. 

Lance Naik Khan Muhammad and Sepoy Muhammad Zahoor also embraced martyrdom in the explosion.

ISPR further stated that during the subsequent clearance operation, five terrorists belonging to India-backed proxy group Fitna Al-Hind were killed.